Review: Lufthansa Lounge Milan Malpensa

As part of my two-month trip working remotely in Europe and Morocco, I took a morning train from Cinque Terre to Milan and went directly to the airport, where I waited to get on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, at about 5:30 pm. So I took advantage of the Lufthansa lounge at Malpensa airport (MXP) to rest in this day of travel.

The lounge is located in Terminal 1, in the Schengen A area after security. You can follow the directions from the duty free store.

You won’t have to walk very far; the lounge is conveniently located near gates A24 to 30.

Since I was staying in the Schengen area, the lounge was near my gate. However, if you are flying outside the Schengen area, you should plan some time for passport control between the lounge and your boarding gate.

Once you arrive, the entrance is quite easy to find.

With my Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card I have six airport lounges a year through DragonPass.

So I used the Visa Airport Companion app ahead of time and chose the Lufthansa lounge. After reading the information, I saw that access was only available to Star Alliance travelers. Luckily, I was flying with Tap Air Portugal that day, so I was eligible.

Indeed, when I arrived, I tried to scan my Dragonpass member access, without success. The receptionist then asked me for my boarding pass and after verification, she gave me access to the lounge.

I was never charged for this access on my Dragonpass account in the end, but I’m sure it was just a fluke!

Without a pass, access to the lounge normally costs 39 euros for those traveling with Lufthansa and 49 euros for those traveling with another Star Alliance member airline.

After checking in, I was able to put my carry-on bag in a locker near the front desk. I was happy to have that option since I was traveling solo with two backpacks and it’s sometimes exhausting to drag everything around.

The Lufthansa lounge at MXP airport is divided into several sections and has all kinds of seats, chairs and tables for eating, resting or working.

The entrance is in the form of a large corridor. To our right are the bathrooms, lockers and reception while to the left are long tables ideal for those who want to get some work done.

The medium-sized lounge is divided into several sections with dining tables near the buffet, a bar with raised chairs and a large sitting area with several armchairs. There are sockets everywhere for those who wish to recharge their electronic devices.

The room is equipped with large windows which makes it very bright; a detail not to be neglected when spending long hours inside. The decor is contemporary with neutral and warm tones with lights that give the place a more sophisticated look.

The Lufthansa Lounge at Milan Malpensa Airport offers a hot and cold buffet, as well as a wide selection of snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The cold buffet offers salads, sandwiches, cold cuts and cheeses while the hot buffet offers soup and hot dishes such as ravioli, vegetables and meat.

A bar and barista service is offered with spirits and some choices of beer, wine and juice.

Other than the bar, there are other self-serve counters where you can enjoy beer, wine, juice, coffee, flavored water and soft drinks.

There was also a station with desserts and some fruits.

The food and beverage selection was quite extensive and balanced with a variety that suited the size of the show. Having done a few other standard airport lounges on this trip, this is the one where I personally had the best food.

When entering airport lounges, one often expects more upscale spaces and this was the case with the bathroom also in the Lufthansa Milan Malpensa lounge.

Some other important features to mention:

• The lounge had its own high-speed Wi-Fi network
• A printing service was offered
• A flight status board allowed us to know when to head to the boarding gate

The salon is open Monday through Friday from 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturday from 4:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 4:45 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

I personally visited it in the early afternoon on a Saturday and stayed for about 4 hours. I expected the lounge to be quite busy on a weekend day, but at one point I was the only person there.

I really enjoyed my experience at the Lufthansa lounge in Milan, it wasn’t very busy and I stayed there for quite a while (over 3 hours) while waiting for my flight on a long day of travel.

The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, and everything was available for us to eat well or work. I would definitely go back and recommend it to anyone flying on a Star Alliance airline.